Withdrawal
by TheVideoGamer
Summary: Shadow is addicted to a psychedelic drug that he got from Scourge, and it doesn't take Sonic and his friends long to find out. When Scourge comes knocking at the door one day asking for his money, Shadow doesn't have it. Consequently, he and Rouge get kidnapped and our favorite black hedgehog has to break out while battling withdrawal. Rated M for heavy drug use. Shadouge.
1. A Psychedelic Drug

This all started in a meadow.

Yep, a meadow.

Shadow was leaning against a dark willow tree, trying to catch his breath. Sonic had declared the third race in two days, and the only reason Shadow was up for the challenge was to get his mind off of Maria. After finally announcing that he'd never turn back, Shadow at first thought it would be easy.

"Honestly, why did I think that?" He wondered aloud after finally catching his breath. "This is much easier said than done."

Suddenly, a flash of blue came streaking across the grassy plain. "What's up, Faker? Tired after only a few hundred miles? Pfffft! C'mon Man!" The iconic blue hero laughed as he ran backwards past Shadow, getting an irritated scoff in response.

"Shut up..." Shadow muttered.

After a few seconds the Blue Blur came dashing back to the tree. "Somethin' bothering you?" Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, Sonic continued before waiting for one. "'Cause this has been pretty fun up until now, and you're kinda spoilin' it like you always do."

"None of your business. Obviously." Shadow stated in reply, beginning to walk away.

"Are you just tired but you don't want to admit that I'm stronger, faster, and cooler than you? In that case you should've just said so, because we both knew it all along. See ya!" Sonic waved goodbye as he chuckled again.

Shadow clenched his fists tightly in frustration, doing everything he could not to turn around and punch that arrogant hedgehog in his face. He felt his cheeks grow red with rage and took a few deep breaths once Sonic was out of earshot. "Think of something nice." He instructed himself under his breath, "Think of..." He began to imagine Maria, and he felt a pain in his chest. "No, something happy." He said, scanning his mind for people he liked to be around. "Rouge. How about Rouge? She's nice, she listens, she's attractive..." By the time he was done listing things out for himself, he realized his cheeks were red for a different reason. "Ahem, well, I should be getting to..." He realized at that moment that he didn't really have anywhere to go. "Maybe I'll grab some lunch in Station Square." Kicking on his rocket shoes, he began to skate as fast as he could, pretending his recent thoughts had never made their way into his head.

-XXX-

He walked at a slow pace through the city, observing the sights around himself carefully. He did his best not to think about Maria, and instead about the way the birds wove around buildings, charging up speed and then gliding like planes, and the way bugs flew as they dipped and dived through the air. He watched as a group of teenagers left a movie theater, one's hand linked with another's, one skipping despite the fact that she was without a partner. He forced himself to imagine the simple joys in life, but then wondered how they could compare once a tragedy would strike. As he wondered how Sonic felt so free all the time, he passed the movie theater and now had an alleyway on his left side. Out of curiosity he glanced down it at the dumpsters and fire escapes. A group of humans then came into view, huddled around something small and green.

Scourge?

He thought the word to himself, recognizing the leather-clad green hedgehog from years ago when Sonic was a Freedom Fighter. Is this the said "anti-Sonic" that had such a poor reputation among heros? Although he doubted it was the same guy, Shadow couldn't help but wonder what this animal was doing with a group of humans.

"Whatever, I'm hungry." He remembered why he was there upon hearing the low gurgle of his stomach. He then proceeded to enter the nearest restaurant he saw, which was retro themed and seemed to be a pretty basic burger joint. Walking up to the cashier, he saw that the man was a redhead with freckles and a had a monotonous expression on his face. Once Shadow got closer he could see that the guy was texting behind the counter. He stood there and waited for this person to take his order, but the redhead never looked up. "Hello?!" Shadow yelled, pounding his fists against the countertop.

"Oh, uh, um..." The guy slipped the phone into his back pocket and straightened himself up. "Welcome to... Edgar's. May I take your order?"

Shadow smirked, remembering that the logo outside said "Eddy's".

"Yeah. A burger, I guess. Hurry up."

"Would you like that with-"

"I don't care! Just A BURGER okay?"

"Okay, Dude. Lay off."

"If anyone here should be laid off it's you, Cell Phone-Boy!" Shadow retorted, motioning to the cashier's back pocket. The man slunk away with fear in his eyes as Shadow tapped his foot. He came back with a cheeseburger and Shadow took it grumpily. "Who said I wanted cheese?" Shadow mumbled as he walked away.

"Wait, you didn't pay for-" The man shut up as soon as a crackling green Chaos Spear solidified in Shadow's free hand. For this black hedgehog, it was on the house.

-XXX-

As Shadow left the restaurant, it didn't take him long to devour the burger. He realized he was practically starving as he finished it in just several gigantic bites. Deciding to go back to the meadow for some peace from the thousands of humans around him, Shadow began to pass the alleyway again. He turned his head to look for the green hedgehog again when he almost slammed into a human coming from that direction. This person wore a dark brown hoodie with the hood up.

_Wow, how shady..._

He thought to himself, chuckling a bit. The guy pushed past him irritably and kept walking at a fast pace down the street. Once he had disappeared out of sight, Shadow grunted, also in agitation.

_Nobody gets to treat me like that..._

He was about to be on his way when he heard a "Hey, you over there!" He came to an abrupt stop and swerved around to see the hedgehog from before coming his way.

Not wanting to show his shock, Shadow replied, "What do you want?"

"Couldn't help but notice you look a little... down, if you know what I mean."

Shadow just eyed him suspiciously. "What?"

"Just follow me." The green one said as he turned and began to walk down the alley.

Shadow hesitantly followed, fingering his left inhibitor ring.

Nothing's to worry about. I could take him on, easy. And anyone else who might be with him.

Shadow reassured himself as he slowly followed. But to his surprise, it was just the one hedgehog. Nobody else was there at the dead end around the corner.

"Alright, Buddy. The name's Scourge."

The ebony hedgehog's eyebrows arched in shock. It was the same guy. What could he be up to? "Shadow. What do you want?"

"Trust me, I'm doing you a favor. It's a real bargain, Man."

"Then get on with it."

Scourge reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a needle. Shadow took a step back. "Relax, Buddy. It's nothing."

"What's it for?!" Shadow demanded, almost regretting he had ever interacted with this guy.

"Take it." He replied simply, "It'll be a 'buy now, pay later'. But I want the money by tomorrow." Shadow swiped it from his hands and backed away further. The other hedgehog chuckled as the black one turned and sped away, back to the meadow to investigate this strange tool.

-XXX-

When Shadow reached the edge of the city, he looked out over the meadow where the land dipped and consequently showed a low plain of lush and occasional trees. The far border of this grassland took the form of a glittering dark blue ocean, where he could see children swimming to escape the summer heat.

Taking refuge in the shade of the nearest tree, Shadow realized it was the same one he had been leaning against before. He recognized the dark, towering branches and the lazy, deep green leaves that hung from them as if in mourning.

Sitting down and leaning his back up against the trunk, Shadow began to turn the instrument over in his hands. No label, no explanation of what it was. Just a clear syringe with some sort of color-less liquid inside. Was he supposed to know what this was? Did Scourge expect him to return for more? What was he supposed to do with it?

_Why'd he lead me into a dark alleyway to give it to me?_

That thought stung the most in his mind, and a wave of anxiety rose through him. He held the needle up close to his face and squeezed the end, pushing some of it out of the needle. He watched it closely until he felt a sudden gust of wind, and child screamed, "It's Sonic the Hedgehog! Cool!"

Shadow figured Sonic, being a hero and all, might not like seeing Shadow hold such a suspicious object. Maybe he even knew what it was. Maybe Shadow could get some answers from him?

Too big of a risk, if it's something bad.

He decided to bury it under some leaves and grass under the tree at the last second before the wind picked up again and Sonic was right in front of him.

"Yo, Faker! You been here the whole time?"

"No, I'm just... back. What's it to you?" Shadow asked, "How nosy are you, anyway?"

"Whatev. We're all goin' to Amy's place for some lunch, if you're interested."

"Already ate."

"Alright, suit yourself, Faker." With that, the azure hedgehog was out of sight again, and Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. He realized that his muscles had tensed up and he made an effort to scoot back and relax into the tree. Closing his eyes for a minute, he felt something break the skin on his thigh.

"Damnit!" He cried out, seeing that the needle had embedded itself in his thigh. He began to feel some sort of a burning sensation.

_Oh my God, did it enter my bloodstream?_

He pulled the needle out and threw it onto the ground, beginning to feel a mixture of nausea and adrenaline and he stood up using the tree for balance. He stared out into the Atlantic Ocean, gasping for breath. He stood like that for about a minute, waiting for the feeling to go away, but as soon as it did, things began to move in and out of focus. He couldn't see straight, and as a result fell on the ground as he tried to walk. Now things were spinning, and as he tried to watch the humans in the water they began to turn into other things. One became a giant bug while the other became a seagull. One turned into a GUN soldier and the other into himself. He watched as himself and the soldier began to battle with their swords. Wait, what?

He hugged the tree and attempted to stand again, getting knocked off his balance once more as the wind fastened for a third time. "Faker? Aker? Aker?" Sonic's words began to echo and blend with each other, and he looked in the sound's direction to see... Amy in a gorilla suit? Now she was saying, "You don't look too good! Good! Ood!" And then he began to think he heard, "You look like food! Food! Ood!" He closed his eyes and squeezed them tight, trying to make the scene stop happening. He doubted it even really was, but it was all so vivid... "RAWR!" When he looked up, Amy was a fire-breathing dragon. He began to feel something soft against his body and noticed that he was now in a sheep costume.

_This is getting really..._

Before he could finish the thought he realized that he'd better be running. So he tried, but he kept stumbling over roots, rocks, and even his own feet. His jet shoes wouldn't seem to turn on, and he had never run in his life, so he felt really clumsy. Shadow heard the menacing roar again and turned around just in time to see fire flying in his direction. Unfortunately, not watching where he was going resulted in him tripping again and falling on his face. He felt the fire scorch his skin and he screamed out in agony, but before he could finish screaming he was no longer in the meadow.

He was lying on a couch in Amy's apartment.

As he groggily opened his eyes, he could hear someone whispering softly, "Shadow! Shadow! Guys, he's waking up!" As he opened his eyes he could see Sonic, Tails, Amy, Rouge, Silver and Knuckles all huddled around him.

"Ah!" He screamed, lurching upright and attempting to get away, but he had a headache the caliber of an earthquake and found that the best thing to do would be not to move. "Wh-what happened?!" He asked, his voice cracking.

"Sonic found you outside of Station Square, screaming like a schoolgirl. It was apparently like you were high or something." Silver replied, a look of worry written all over her face.

Shadow gave her a confused look. "High?"

"Like on drugs!" Amy replied, "Geez, talk about naive..."

Shadow sat up slowly. He couldn't even remember much after the needle piercing into him. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "What are you saying?"

"She's not saying anything." Rouge promised, "Just jumping to conclusions."

"It's so unlike you to just have an episode like that. What happened, Faker?"

He sighed as he heard his petty nickname from Sonic. "Just get me something for this headache."

Sonic didn't move, just stared at him, full of suspicion. "I'll get it." Rouge said, walking into Amy's kitchen and peering into all the drawers for painkillers. She came back with a big fat pill and a glass of water. Shadow gave her a nod of thanks as he took the medicine from her. As he swallowed it Sonic began to describe the experience from his point of view.

"Dude, I was here, and then Rouge asked where you were. I said you didn't want to come, and then she said-"

"I told him to drag you here if he had to." Rouge interrupted.

"So anyway, I went back for you and saw you in that field, where you've been all day."

"I wasn't there all day!" Shadow backfired angrily, immediately grabbing his head. The pill hadn't started working yet.

"Okay, stop interruptin' me, people! I ran up to you and your eyes were all dilated and you started to scream at me and then you ran away and the whole time I was thinkin', 'What's goin' on here?'." Shadow didn't really listen as Sonic told the story. He was wondering what the heck it was that he took.

_So it was a psychedelic drug..._

He also began to realize how much it took his mind off of Maria. I mean, yeah, it was terrifying, but he wondered if he could enjoy it after a while. Maybe he could even control what he hallucinated. He began to consider going back for the syringe but realized he had better do it later, because he still had a major headache and his friends were going to be all over him today.

Once Sonic was done talking and talking, he estimated that the medicine had kicked on just enough for him to comfortably be able to move - if he walked slowly. But as soon as he got up off the couch, everyone exploded into shouts of "Wait, you should get some rest!" and "You're not going anywhere!" and "No way, Faker!"

"Ugh... I just have to use the restroom." He lied, forming an idea.

"Fine. But hurry back." Rouge called as he began to walk away.

"I'll make you some chicken soup!" Amy called out, running to the kitchen. Shadow rolled his eyes. It wasn't like he had a cold.

"I'll make you a chilly dog!" Sonic promised, also running to the kitchen.

"Gross..." Shadow mumbled.

Once he got to the bathroom, he shut the door and locked it. His eyes began to wander to the nearest window, and his idea began to take action. He attempted to pry it open, but it was the kind that didn't have a latch, so he punched it with his right hand. It was left with a big crack and he punched it a second time, his fist finally forcing the glass to give out. He then grabbed the edges of the hole and pulled, breaking most of the glass away.

"What was that?" He heard from outside the bathroom. It was Silver. The ivory hedgehog jiggled the door knob and saw that it wouldn't budge. Now he was shouting to the others. Great.

Shadow jumped through the window and landed on the window ledge. Strong gusts of afternoon wind blew his spikes around, and especially into his face. He tried his best to push them out of his view and carefully sidestepped, wondering what to do now. As soon as it occurred to him that he didn't know, he began to hear clicking noises from the bathroom. Relieved that his great hearing could pick that up over the roaring wind, he glanced back through the broken window. He found that the door was being unlocked by Silver telekinetically.

_I'm not gonna get out of here in time!_

He dashed back into the building and grabbed the door knob, leaning in the opposite direction so his weight was preventing the others from opening the door. Now was a good time to be the ultimate lifeform. Suddenly, the door was rattled by a loud crash that could only be Sonic trying to kick the door down. "What's goin' on, Faker? What're you doing this for?" Sonic asked before he kicked the door a second time.

Through all of these action-packed events, Shadow wondered if he still had any of that drug left in his system. That's when it hit him: He had just broken a window and felt no pain.

no pain.

He looked down at his hands and realized that there was blood seeping through his normally white gloves. His right hand was especially bad. He is the ultimate lifeform though, so the cuts would have healed by now, but not without a short period of bleeding and pain.

_Maybe I do have some of that drug left in me..._

Due to thinking so hard, he was caught off guard when Sonic gave a final kick to the door. It came crashing off its hinges and Shadow knew his best chance was to climb back out to the ledge. Sonic came dashing after him, and now they were both standing above the city, cars waiting impatiently in the traffic below. The two hedgehogs could hear the cry of distant horns and grew increasingly nervous at the altitude.

"Come back inside!" Sonic begged as he watched Shadow inch farther away from him.

"Not happening." was all Shadow said in reply as he reached the end of the building.

"Sayonara!" He yelled as he jumped.


	2. The Second Experience

Sonic watched in horror as Shadow jumped from the roof of the building. He flailed his arms and legs, just barely reaching the roof of another building. The black hedgehog clung for dear life to the metal railing and pulled himself up. Giving one last look at Sonic, who was now staring with his mouth hanging open, he flung open a big blue door and descended the stairs of the new building.

He took it two steps at a time as he trekked downward.

_Why am I excited to do this again?_

He wondered, thinking about the drug and just feeling some sort of longing. Even though the recent experience was terrifying, he wished he could do it again soon. So when he reached the end of the stairs he dashed out of the building and took off for the meadow at the speed of sound.

When he reached it he found the huge weeping willow that he had been to many times before and scanned the ground beneath it for the loose leaves and dirt. Upon locating the area he sifted through until he found the needle. But then he realized it was now very dirty. Holding it up close to his face, he saw that it was now covered in dust and soil.

"Gross." He muttered, "I'll have to wipe this off, but how do I get it cleaned without someone seeing me?" He looked around the scene, squinting under the bright sun. Then he got an idea. "The ocean would clean and disinfect it, right? Doesn't saltwater kill germs or whatever?"

He thought it would be smarter than walking into a public place with it, so he ran up to the edge of the water, careful to go downshore enough so that no humans (or animals, for that matter) were around. He wet his hand and wiped it off, then suddenly remembered that his gloves were stained red, so he took them off and tried to scrub out the crimson stains. They mostly came out, and he slipped them back on. Now he felt a lot better.

Shadow was about to return to the tree, when he remembered that's probably the first place his acquaintances would look for him. So he ran around the around the outer edge of the city for a while before he could find a deserted spot behind a big building. He leaned against the graffiti-covered brick as he held the sharp syringe.

He stuck himself with the needle on the opposite side from his elbow, where he knew people stuck IV's to get medicine in a person's bloodstream, and pushed the sliding back part inward. He watched the liquid disappear and the sting of the drug began to circulate through his entire body. The air itself seemed to blur and Shadow chuckled to himself as he floated away. Off into a world that was apart from all his problems. Now that he welcomed this feeling, everything seemed all the more right about it. The brick became a tall mountain, and he wanted to climb it. Using a harness he suddenly found on himself, Shadow threw his grappling hook and it caught perfectly on a rock. He found good footing and began to climb, really enjoying himself. But as soon as the illusion had come, it was gone.

Now he was on the ARK with Maria. She was scratching him behind the ear and laughing about something, and he joined in, not caring what they were actually laughing about. He gave her a hug and an idiotic smile, just enjoying this moment. As far as he was currently concerned, this was all real. But then there were soldiers everywhere. He sprang to action and took out the first row of them with a spin dash in less than a second. Then he noticed that Maria was holding a gun and taking out the rest of them. "Go Maria!" He cheered her on, laughing even more. This was great.

Now they were on Earth, sitting under a tree. Just Maria and him. No Sonic or Tails or Knuckles in sight. Maria grabbed his hand in hers, and when he looked up, she wasn't Maria anymore. She was Rouge. But he wasn't shocked. He didn't back away in disgust when she leaned in to kiss him on the lips. Just sat there contently.

Then the ground began to shake and Amy, the fire-breathing dragon was back. And she was angry. The two jumped to their feet and by combining their laser powers (huh?), they blew her away!

"Woohoo!" Shadow yelled, "Mission clear!"

"Rank S!" Rouge shouted.

-XXX-

Before Shadow even noticed the hallucination had ended, he was back on Amy's couch. Only now, everyone's expression wasn't of worry, but of anger and shock. Instead of saying something like, "Oh good, you're awake!" Rouge just approached him and took the syringe from behind her back. "Time to explain." She said blankly.

"H-how'd you find me?" Shadow asked, "Can you-"

"No, you're not getting anything for that headache until you tell us what's going on!" Sonic exploded. It seemed so out of character for him, which made his extreme concern obvious.

Shadow sighed, realizing it was six against one. Even Knuckles had a mixture of surprise and disappointment of his face. "What happened, Man?" He asked.

"Don't you dare pity me!" Shadow yelled at no one in particular. Anger was his only defense mechanism.

"Just tell us!" Amy replied angrily, "Why do you have that?" She pointed to the item in Rouge's hand. Shadow just closed his eyes and rested his head back onto the armrest.

"C'mon, Faker!" Sonic sat down on the couch next to him, "Why're ya doin' this?"

"Mind your own business."

"Hey, we only want to know because we're trying to get you back on track!"

"Well that's not your place to be!"

"You obviously can't do this on your own!" Sonic hadn't said it, and everyone turned to Rouge. She walked up to Shadow through the crowd of animals and leaned down so that they were at eye level. "What the hell happened to you, Shadow?" His eyes widened at her choice of words, but this time he said nothing in response, so she continued. "If this doesn't stop there'll be no future for you." She said it like it was the most obvious, simple thing in the world. Then she stood back up and looked down on him. Everyone was shocked to see Shadow's ears flatten out on his head in inferiority. "So I've decided to turn you in to the police if you don't stop taking..." She looked at the empty instrument. "whatever you're taking."

"You're not going to do that." Shadow said, abruptly standing up and attempting to grab the tool from her. She held it behind her back before he could grab it.

"Oh yes I will. I'm sure there's traces of your blood and the drug on this thing. It'll be easy."

"So how about it then?" Silver stepped forward, "Are you going to get clean?"

Shadow scoffed. He had only used it twice, after all! How big of a deal could this possibly be? He nodded once.

"Good." Rouge said, "Now then. No leaving this building."

"And you lost me." He said, getting up.

Before you could say "suddenly", the six other inhabitants of that room tackled him back onto the couch.

"Sorry Faker," Sonic said, "but a deal's a deal."


	3. The Torture Begins

Shadow felt nothing at first, but the more he thought about the drug, the more it made him depressed that it was gone. He just sat on the couch in Amy's apartment, trying to ignore his splitting headache and watching the TV with his other acquaintances. The other animals sat in chairs around the TV or on the floor, except for Rouge who chose to sit on the couch with Shadow. As the sunlight dissipated and twilight set in, rain clouds began to cover up the oranges, yellows and reds in the sky. The wind also picked up, and Amy shut all the windows. "Can someone turn up the thermostat?" Shadow asked, "It's freezing in here."

"It's the middle of summer." Knuckles replied, "It's actually too hot in here, in my opinion."

"Yeah," Tails added, "if you're going to change the temperature please turn on the air conditioning."

"Alright, forget it then." Shadow responded, annoyed at being teamed up against. By the time the sun had set completely and it was beginning to rain, Shadow spoke up again. "Okay, now you guys must be joking. It's freezing!"

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Silver all shook their heads. "Nope. Still fine in here."

"Hmph. I'm going to bed." Shadow said in response, getting up. He looked to Amy for guidance.

"Your room's the last one on the right." She called out, hardly glancing away from the TV.

On his way to the bedroom Shadow tried to keep his teeth from chattering. He wished so badly he had that drug with him. It would make everything so much better...

"Hey Shadow." He heard Rouge's voice right before he moved his hand onto the door knob.

"W-what?" He stuttered, being as cold as he was.

She walked up to him until they were fairly close. The bat tried to put her hand on his shoulder but Shadow swatted it away. "This is called withdrawal. I know it's not fun, and it's going to get worse, but in time it will go away."

"N-no, I'm f-fine. Really-y."

She just shrugged her shoulders and opened the door for him. "Sleep well." She knew he wouldn't, though.

Shadow sucked in a breath and entered the dark room. He went straight for the queen-sized bed and crawled under the covers. Despite his pride, Shadow wanted to thank Rouge. "Hey," he called out before she closed the door.

"Yeah?"

He awkwardly smiled, even though his teeth were nearly chattering, and gave her another small nod. Rouge grinned from ear to ear as she shut the door softly behind herself.

-XXX-

Shadow tried his very best to stay warm, taking up all the blankets and wrapping them tightly around himself, but they made no difference. He felt the freezing cold despite the fact that he was madly sweating. He wished Rouge was with him to make him feel better, but he was sure she was nice and warm in her own bed. After a while of this extreme discomfort he glanced at the clock. It was eleven. Yep, she was probably nice and content under the spell of sleep.

Deciding to go to the bathroom and splash some warm water on his face, Shadow got up and wrapped himself in a soft grey blanket, hoping not to lose too much more body heat. As he stood up, his vision got spotty, which wasn't a shock after being idle for so long, but the purple blotches wouldn't seem to leave his vision. And once he processed that, he began to notice that the world around him was now spinning. To top it all off, he was pretty sure that dark figure in the corner of the room was coming his way. He tried to get away but tripped on the blanket and fell face first onto the floor. "Uhh..." He moaned, trying to pull himself up. There was blood dripping onto the floor. He felt his nose and decided that it was the location of the bleeding, but then more blood began to fall. His cheek? His forehead? His eyes? He could've sworn his whole face was falling apart until a blinding light severed the entire picture. The light hit him like a laser beam and burned his skin. He was now blazing hot, clawing at the floor in a desperate attempt to get away.

But then he heard someone shout, "Shadow! Are you okay?" He looked up to find that it was just Rouge, who had come to check on him.

"No, I'm not okay! I think I'm dying!" He wanted to yell it but didn't want anyone else to know the pain he was in.

"Okay, shh... calm down." Rouge sat down on the floor next to Shadow and he slowly sat up straight. She put her arms around him and kept going, "shh.. it's okay Honey, it's okay..."

"I'm... too... hot..." She let go of him and pushed the blanket away. Rouge was about to leave and he whispered,

"Don't leave me..."

"I won't, I promise you. I'm just going to get something to make you feel better." When Rouge came back a minute later, she was holding a moistened towel. She saw that Shadow had laid back down on the wooden floor, but she decided not to try to move him. Instead, she just sat down next to him and gently laid the towel on his forehead.

Shadow sighed upon feeling the cool touch of the wet fabric. It felt so nice against his feverish skin.

"...Thank you..." The words were so barely audible that Rouge almost didn't hear them, but the room was completely silent otherwise, so she could. Instead of replying with words, she just caressed his cheek with the back of her right hand and smiled slightly.

After a few minutes of this, the towel was room temperature again and Shadow was more or less cooled off. "Let's get you back in bed." She said, doing her best to help him up and set him back onto the mattress. She sat down on the side of the bed and watched him silently, until he took her hand in his shaky one and they studied each other's eyes.

"Rouge..." He mumbled.

"Yes?"

"...Don't you... dare... pity me..."

She chuckled. "I won't, Honey. I won't."

-XXX-

The following morning, Sonic woke up happily to the chirping of birds. He got a great night's sleep, and he hoped Shadow did too. He was well aware of the effects of withdrawal. As the blue hedgehog strode out to the kitchen, he saw everyone sitting at the table eating cereal, oatmeal or toast. "Anyone seen our junkie?" He asked, getting negatives from everyone.

"We haven't seen Rouge either." Tails replied.

So Sonic decided to do some snooping. He walked back into the hall of bedrooms and saw that the door to Shadow's was hanging open slightly, but it was dark inside. When he poked his head in, he saw Shadow lying on his side with a look of discomfort on his face, his fur matted and sweaty, while Rouge laid next to him, fast asleep. The oddest part was that they were holding hands.

Sonic chuckled and ran back to the kitchen. "Found 'em both."

"Aww... Rouge decided to keep Shads company!" Amy cooed, resulting in a giggle from Silver and a smirk from Tails and Knuckles.

"Whatever makes him happy." Sonic said, grabbing a bowl and a spoon, "I can only imagine what he's going through right now."


	4. Trouble with Scourge

The morning after Shadow's first night of withdrawal, Rouge was still by his side, not wanting to leave him through the entire night. Around seven in the morning, Rouge woke to the bedroom door being slightly moved. She opened an eye and saw that it was Sonic, wondering what they were up to. Instead of saying anything she just closed her eyes and matched her breathing with Shadow's, soon falling back asleep.

When she woke again it was eight thirty-seven, or so claimed the small digital clock on the bedside table. She sat up and stretched out her legs and wings, remembering the previous night's events. She had heard thumping noises coming from Shadow's room at a very late hour and decided to come check on him. She was too worried for him to sleep anyway. So when she opened his door Rouge had found him wrapped in a blanket on the wooden floor, trembling and flailing around.

_Hallucinations._

She had thought to herself, but before she could dwell on it much she decided to help him. "Shadow! Are you okay?" She had asked.

"No, I'm not okay! I think I'm dying!" He responded in a shaky voice, sounding like he had just gotten strangled.

Rouge had run over and did her best to comfort him, telling him to calm down and shushing him like a mother with her child. She was a little shocked that he let her put her arms around him in an embrace, but she also figured he had bigger problems to pay attention to. So after a night of nursing him and hoping he wasn't in too much agony, she fell asleep beside him in his bed.

Rouge looked over at Shadow's limp, unconscious body and could only feel sadness. She couldn't even imagine what he was feeling like. So she laid back down and decided to wait for him to wake up.

_It might be more comforting to him if I'm here in the morning._

She thought, putting her arms around him again and nodding back off into a slumber.

-XXX-

When Shadow woke up, he felt slightly better but still terrible. He didn't want to move, in fear that more achiness and nausea would come. So he just looked around the room. He saw the grey blanket tossed away in the middle of the floor and everything came flooding back to him.

That's when he noticed the arms wrapped around him. Over to his right he saw Rouge, looking at him happily. "Look who's up." She whispered, smiling.

He just frowned back. "I feel like crap." He uttered, though his throat was very hoarse and consequently his voice was just as mangled-sounding as the night before.

"Well you should, after making such bad choices." She replied, still wondering why he was using drugs. Now wasn't the time to ask though. She would get answers when he was stronger. After a silence, she asked, "Still feeling like the Ultimate Lifeform?" A slight shake of his head gave Rouge her reply. "Want to go get some breakfast?"

"NO." He DID NOT feel like getting up. Shadow wasn't even sure he could sit up.

"Okay, well how about-"

"How about you go get me another wet towel, and I try to sit up?"

"Okay. That works." She got out of the bed and entered the hallway. All her friends turned and looked at her as she came into view.

"Sleep well?" Sonic asked with a chuckle.

"Just fine. Thanks." was her reply. Rouge was about to enter the bathroom when she froze in her tracks and decided to walk up to the kitchen table. "Look," she said in a serious, hushed tone. "I don't think Shadow's ever felt quite worse, so I don't want any funny business." She turned to Sonic. "YOU. No 'faker'. Okay?" He nodded. "And everyone else, just... be nice."

With that, she turned on her heel and dashed into the bathroom.

Everyone just stared at each other. "Was that scary, or WHAT?" Sonic said, bursting into laughter. Knuckles and Tails soon followed.

"I think we should take her seriously." Silver said, giving dirty looks to the laughing trio. "I don't think we'll be able to understand what Shadow's going through."

The three became silent. "Alright, fine." Sonic responded unhappily, "But you're killin' my buzz."

-XXX-

When Rouge came back into Shadow's room, she stopped and looked at him for a moment, dumbstruck. She'd never seen him look so vulnerable. Normally she had to be mindful of the fact that he could kill her in a single punch, but now it looked as if the tables had turned. Her favorite hedgehog's ears hung down on his head, his pride diminished as he rolled over and over again in the bed, never comfortable.

She pushed away tears as she set the cloth on his head again and stroked his cheek, as she had done the night before. But nevertheless, she refused to let herself judge or pity him. She knew that was his worst fear. She could see that he hadn't sat himself up.

"Any better...?" She asked, waiting quietly for his response.

Suddenly, she heard the creak of the door. It was Sonic again, only this time he had brought the rest of them with him. Shadow covered his face with his hands, whimpering almost inaudibly. "Hey Fak-, hey Shadow!" Sonic whispered softly, as if not to disturb a wild animal. Rouge shot them all dirty looks, knowing Shadow wouldn't like them seeing him like this.

Amy put a hand up to her mouth in shock when she stepped through the doorway. Silver's ears flattened out and Knuckles and Tails did their best not to show sympathy. "Go... away..." Shadow groaned, turning his head away from them all and closing his eyes.

"It's okay, they won't be here long." Rouge promised, shooting a final bad look in the guests' direction.

"How long were you using this drug?" Sonic asked.

"...Only yesterday..." Shadow replied.

Sonic's eyes widened in shock. "Really? And it did this to you?"

"Getting touchy..." Rouge warned melodically.

"Sorry. But, do you know what kind of drug it was?"

"No." He replied, "No idea."

Everyone looked at each other, shrugging and making faces.

"Why'd you do it?" Amy asked, "Why'd you use the drug?"

"I... wanted to... forget."

"But, but..." Amy's eyes began to tear up and she left the room.

"Wow, she's pretty distraught..." Rouge muttered.

"She's emotional." Sonic replied, "Just ignore it."

Shadow looked up at Sonic. "You guys should leave too."

With a sigh, Sonic turned toward the door. "Get well soon." Silver called on their way out.

-XXX-

Over the course of the day, Rouge would come in and out of Shadow's room to bring him food (which he wouldn't eat much of), wet towels, and even a trashcan, because he vomited up pretty much all the food he would eat.

At five o' clock, Rouge came back out into the kitchen and sat down at the table. She was exhausted from taking care of Shadow all day. The others offered to help, but she declined and they knew Shadow would only want to see Rouge. "Want anything for dinner?" Tails asked from the kitchen, "I'm making ramen noodles for anyone who wants some."

"Please." Rouge replied, setting her head down on the wood.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A sudden knock came pounding on the door, and all the inhabitants of the kitchen jumped. "I got this." Sonic said, quickly getting up. He was worried it could be something harmful to his friends. I mean, seriously, no one who's nice knocks like that.

Now I've got good news and bad news for you, Reader. The good news is that Sonic's hunch was right and he was the one to answer the door. The bad news is that it was a bad guy.

"WHERE'S MY MONEY?!" Scourge yelled, jumping into the front room.

Meanwhile, this woke Shadow from his sleep and it took all his willpower to sit up and and get out of bed. He was feeling extremely guilty that he had dragged innocent people into this.

"What are you talking about?!" Sonic shouted back, but not nearly as loud, "And what are you DOING HERE?!"

The green hedgehog narrowed his blue eyes and made fists with his hands. "Where's Shadow?" He asked maliciously.

"I-I don't know!" Sonic replied, knowing Shadow wouldn't stand a chance in a fight. "W-we were actually wondering too!"

Scourge snickered as he shook his head. "No. You know exactly where he is, don't you?"

Everyone at the kitchen table stood up. "No! We don't!" Silver lied. Amy and Tails glanced over at the bedroom doors worriedly.

"This isn't gonna work on me, people!" Shadow heard him yell as the black hedgehog slowly made his way to the door, holding on to the nightstand and then the dresser for support.

Scourge ran in the direction of the nervous glances and put his hand on Shadow's door knob. "We still don't know what you're talking about!" Tails said.

"Give it up, Buddy. He knows." Knuckles uttered as he crossed his arms.

"Actually, I wasn't really sure until you just said that!" Scourge laughed. Knuckles's face went red as everyone glared at him. Scourge turned the door knob and was about to run into the room when he saw Shadow standing right behind the door, not even a foot away from him. He laughed again. "Dude, you're a mess!"

"That's thanks to your GARBAGE!" Shadow yelled, well, sort of. His voice cracked as he managed to raise his voice slightly.

"Wha- did you take it all at once?"

"Pretty much. There wasn't exactly a set of instructions."

Scourge smirked at him. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'm here for the money. Remember our agreement?"

"Our-" Shadow began to remember what Scourge had told him.

- FLASHBACK -

Scourge took a syringe out of his leather jacket and Shadow took a step back. "Relax, Buddy. It's nothing." Scourge had said.

"What's it for?!" Shadow had demanded.

"Take it." Was Scourge's response, "It'll be a 'buy now, pay later'. But I want the money by tomorrow."

- END FLASHBACK -

"Yes." Shadow responded, "I do. How much do you want for it so you can take your rings and get out?"

"Five thousand." Shadow was hit with shock.

"WHAT? For a needle filled with hell?!"

"Yep. It's a new thing my boss's been workin' on. So pay up." Everyone just stood there in silence, shifting their weight. Shadow had to lean against the door frame to keep his balance. "Wait, don't tell me, you don't have it?"

Shadow shook his head. "No."

"Did I hear you correctly? You don't have the money?"

"That's right. What are you going to do about it?" Shadow bared his sharp teeth and growled as he waited for a response.

That's when Scourge tackled him to the ground. Easily the victor, the anti-Sonic pinned him to the wooden panels and said in a menacing tone, "You get me the money. By tomorrow. Or I'm going to make you more miserable than you already are." With that, he dashed out of the apartment at the speed of sound, leaving everyone in shock.

"...What just happened?" Knuckles asked, speaking for everyone.

Nobody answered. Rouge just ran over to Shadow and helped him up off the ground, setting him down gingerly in his bed. Sonic and the other animals decided to go back to eating lunch, and Rouge was about to follow when she instead stopped and shut the bedroom door. Shadow wondered what was going on as she turned to him and walked back up to the bed. She leaned down until their heads were level with each other.

"What are you-" But Shadow couldn't finish the sentence because Rouge kissed him on the lips. For a second he just sat there on the bed in shock, but then he returned the kiss. And in the moment before she pulled away and it was all over he forgot about how horrible he felt, and how his head was throbbing from being thrown onto the floor. All he could think about was how much he had been waiting for this moment. So when it ended and the flow of electricity was cut off he just stared into her eyes and asked, "What was that for?" But Rouge could see right through that. His blush was as red as fire.

She snickered and sat down on the bed next to him. "Shadow, promise me something."

"Okay." His response shocked them both. The Ultimate Lifeform took orders from no one.

"Promise me that you'll never get yourself this much trouble again."

"Well, doesn't that take the fun out of life?" He snickered.

"I mean it."

The ebony hedgehog sucked in a breath before saying, "I'll do what I can, but I can't promise you that."

"You're gonna have to." She walked over to the door and locked it. "I'm not leaving until you promise me, and you certainly aren't leaving either."

He scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, now."

She just smiled and approached him again. "Shadow, my sweet," she took his hand, "I don't care if you're fifty years older than I am. You still have so much to learn."

He raised an eyebrow. "Do I?"

"Yeah." She leaned in for another kiss and his once-fading blush returned in full force.

"You've got to stop doing that." He responded as she pulled away.

"Well, I don't think you want me to."

"Putting words in my mouth? That's risky, Rouge."

"But what could you possibly do?" She stood up and looked him over. "You're completely defenseless right now. How does that make you feel?"

He balled his hands into fists and cocked his head to the side. "Where are you going with this?"

She hesitated before replying, "I just want you to promise me."

He sighed. "Fine. Alright, I promise. No more trouble if I can help it."

"Good."

"Now, before you leave me."

He held out his hand palm up and waved his fingers toward himself, doing the "come here" motion. Rouge leaned in to his face again and he tilted his head for a smooch.

Rouge gave him a quizzical look afterwards. "I'll never understand you, Shadow the Hedgehog."

He chuckled, leaning back with his hands behind his head. "It was my turn to kiss you."

"But I thought... nevermind. You boggle me."

"Rouge..." He closed his eyes. "I often say things... that are not meant. I..."

"Shh... It's okay, Shadow. I get it."

"You get what?"

"That you secretly think I'm beautiful but don't want to admit how amazing and witty I am. And now that you've finally broken and kissed me back you're trying to make excuses but it's not working." She said it with a smirk and a bat of her eyelashes. "You know it's true."

"Pfft. Don't be-"

"Aww, is the little junkie tongue-tied?" She turned again and walked back to the door. "Bye-bye now!"

As the door shut with a mischievous bang, Shadow was so angry that she was so right. But when he thought back on the kisses they had shared, he couldn't help but blush madly and bury his face in his pillow. Oh, how she made him at a loss for words! Everything he said to her had always been to cover up what he really felt, but now she knows it was all an act!

He then immediately felt disgusted with himself for enjoying this. What if she was out there, telling everyone what just happened? "No," he said aloud, "she would never do that. I'm too important to her."


	5. Blood and Money

The next day, Shadow found himself feeling just a tiny bit better and decided to try getting up. He slowly pulled his head off the pillow and threw the blankets off of himself. He proceeded to swing his legs around and set them down onto the floor. Shadow grabbed the headboard for support as he pushed his weight onto his feet. Shakily, he left the bedroom and walked into the kitchen.

"Wow, on your feet the second day drugless. I'm impressed, Faker!" Sonic clapped his hands as the ultimate lifeform entered the room.

"I see you forgot about our talk, yesterday..." Rouge muttered. Sonic didn't hear her.

"Well, I honestly just want a shower. I feel disgusting." Shadow replied, "So uh... bye." He turned and slunk into the bathroom.

Once he had left, Tails turned to to the others at the table. "Second day and he's feeling better? The worst effects just a few hours after use? What is this drug? Is this even withdrawal?"

"I don't know." Rouge replied, "In all my years of crime-fighting, I've never seen anything like this. But don't say anything, we wouldn't want to scare him."

"Okay..." Tails replied, getting up from the table and walking over to the TV, "but if this gets any weirder, we should probably take him to the vet. Or the hospital. What're we supposed to take him to anyway?"

"Probably the vet." Said Knuckles.

"Nope, definitely the hospital." Sonic replied.

"It doesn't matter, Guys!" Rouge bursted, "He'll be fine!"

-XXX-

Shadow could hear his friends arguing about something, but it was too muffled through the wall to make out and he didn't really care. He ran the water and stepped under the steaming waterfall. It made his vision blur for a moment and he leaned against the wall, but it soon dissipated and he took his shower peacefully.

After a few minutes, Shadow shook most of the water off of himself and stepped out of the shower. He wrapped himself in a soft white towel and took hold of the door knob, about to leave, but then he heard another series of bangs, like from the day before.

"Open the door!" It was Scourge again. Shadow threw the towel off and ran outside (well, he tried to run, it was more like a slow jog), his fur still scraggly and damp. Everyone looked at each other frantically, realizing they didn't have a plan ready, and they certainly didn't have any money.

"Do you have an emergency exit?" Shadow asked Amy. She shook her head, terrified now.

"Well, uh..." He was so angry at himself, wishing his friends didn't have to be around for this. They had done so much for him, and now he could only hope he was Scourge's only target.

Before he could think anymore, the door broke off its hinges and Scourge immediately took hold of his neck, pushing him against the wall. "Lemme guess, no money." Rouge gasped and Shadow didn't respond, just grabbed at Scourge's hands, trying to pry his grip apart. The anti-Sonic let go and backed up a few feet. Shadow fell to the ground and gasped for air. Now that he could think, he realized how scared everyone looked.

"Hey, Faker. I've got this." Sonic stepped in front of Shadow and looked Scourge in the eyes. "Other Faker, why don't we settle this somewhere else?"

"Sorry Sonic," Scourge's mouth curved up into a wicked sneer, "this isn't your battle."

He lunged for Shadow again and he dodged, just barely avoiding being choked again. "You don't even know if I have the money, let me explain!" Shadow yelled through panting breaths.

"Fine. Tell me then. Where is it?"

"...At the bank."

"You're lying."

"No! I'm not! Follow me." Shadow began to walk out the door and Scourge followed closely. Rouge began to walk towards the two but Sonic pulled her back.

"You probably shouldn't go. I have a feeling things are gonna get... ugly between them." Sonic whispered.

"Get your hands off me!" Rouge kicked him and Sonic fell backwards, holding his stomach. "I'll go if I choose to!" She ran out the door as Amy scrambled to help Sonic up.

Rouge ran through the hallway, looking for the two that had departed. "Where are they...?" She wondered aloud, getting lost in the maze of apartments. By the time she found her way outside they were nowhere in sight. "Wait, they went to the bank!" She remembered, heading for the closest bank in Station Square. She turned a corner and saw them walking away, towards the bank. She wanted to run up to them but decided it would be best to stay her distance and only get involved if something bad happened.

-XXX-

Shadow walked through the square on his way to the bank, Scourge following dangerously close behind him. He felt like he was being led with a gun to his back, and it was a feeling worse than that night on the bedroom floor to know that he was currently completely powerless. If Scourge jumped him he wouldn't have enough energy to fight back, or even summon a chaos spear. For the first time in his endless life, Shadow felt helplessly and inevitably mortal.

And what was he going to do when Scourge found out he didn't even have a bank account?

-XXX-

As they reached the bank, Rouge watched as Shadow stopped in his tracks and Scourge shoved him to move. Shadow fell onto his knees and got back up, turning around. She saw the ultimate lifeform motion to the crowds of people around them, but Scourge didn't care as he seemed to grow angrier and angrier. The green one punched Shadow in the stomach and she heard her crush fall yelp in pain and fall again. She wanted to step in, but she didn't think she would win a fight against an anti-Sonic.

People gasped as Shadow was beaten brutally by Scourge. After blood began to fall from the ebony hedgehog's mouth, she couldn't take it anymore and ran into the scene, throwing herself in front of Scourge. "Well, well. You've got yourself a girlfriend!" Scourge smiled maliciously, and lunged for Rouge. She flew out of the way and kicked him in the face when her shoe became level with it.

"Get away from me, you creep!" He fell backward, a little disoriented, and Rouge landed on the ground next to Shadow.

"Are you okay, Hon?" She asked, trying to get him to his feet. He slowly stood up, but was knocked onto his back again when Scourge ran at full speed toward him and threw him back down. The black hedgehog even slid a few feet and was knocked unconscious. Rouge screamed at this, and also because she was grabbed from behind by Scourge and hit on the back of her head. Now Shadow wasn't the only one who was out cold.

-XXX-

When Shadow woke up, he couldn't hear anything except for Rouge's soft sobbing. "This whole week, I've felt like crap, but I don't think it gets much worse than this." He groaned as he pushed himself from the ground. "Why're you crying?" He asked in a concerned voice.

"Look in front of you!" She cried, "We've been kidnapped by Scourge's minions!"

"Well, you're an agent and everything, aren't you? Just, do whatever you usually do."

"I don't think that's gonna work this time, my sweet."

"...Why not?" She just motioned in front of them. There were two guards patrolling outside of their cell. "Wait, are we in a- where the hell are we?" Shadow asked frantically.

"Welcome to Scourge's hideout." One of the guards replied, "But it doesn't really matter. If you owe him money, you're never getting out alive."

"His plan's actually to use you as a way to get Sonic over here, and then he'll kill you all."

"Wait, why are you telling me this? I'm just gonna break out and tell everyone the whole plan! You villains are getting dumber and dumber..."

"Hey!" The guard yelled, "That's uncalled for!"

"It's just so true, though!" Shadow responded, getting the other guy extremely agitated.

"That's it!" The guard unlocked the cell and grabbed Shadow by the shoulders, wrenching him into the open space. He proceeded to punch him in the face, but missed when Shadow dodged. With all of his strength, Shadow swung his hand around and attempted to hit the other guy in his cheek. I mean, he hit him. It just didn't do much of anything but make the guard time he did hit Shadow and he stumbled backwards, hitting a bunch of boxes that hardly moved, due to being full of... drugs, maybe? Shadow tried to summon a chaos spear but nothing happened, he was too weak.

_Damn! If only I could be a little stronger..._

Once that thought was processed, an idea began to form in his head. "Hey, come and get me, you idiot!" Shadow yelled, spreading his legs and motioning the violent guard forward. The guard charged toward him and Shadow sidestepped, letting his attacker ram right into the boxes. White powder blew everywhere and Shadow freely breathed it in, letting it intoxicate him. The plan was coming to action. His pupils dilated and his eyes grew bloodshot. Power seemed to be draining into him, and he felt awesome. It was such a relief from the past few days of torture.

-XXX-

Rouge watched in awe as Shadow summoned a chaos spear and hit the guard easily. When he screamed but didn't give up, Shadow punched him in the gut and delivered a swift kick to his crotch. The man immediately doubled over in pain and hit the ground with a thud.

Out from the growing fog and into back into the cell stepped Shadow the Hedgehog in all of his glory. Rouge smiled and took his hand, not questioning his sudden gain of health as she plugged her nose with her free hand and closed her mouth. Together, they stepped through the ivory dust and began their journey out of Scourge's secret hideout.

Once they left the room with the one jail cell, they began to see many rooms with single jail cells in them.

_I guess this is some sort of weird run-down prison..._

Shadow thought to himself as they walked along, but he was soon interrupted from his thoughts when he heard a door fly open at the end of the hall. "What're you two doing?!" Scourge screamed in confusion, seeing that they were free. He marched up to Shadow and attempted to grab him by the neck, but Shadow easily evaded and kicked him onto the floor. "What the-"

"Not so helpless now, am I?" Shadow asked, standing tall over his enemy.

"Y-you... took the..." He looked up at Shadow's bloodshot eyes and saw him nod slightly, "didn't you..."

"Yes. Now let's go, Rouge." The bat linked arms with him and they began to speed out of the old building. He heard Scourge yell something and before they knew it, a whole bunch of guards were chasing them.

"Hah, as if they think they'll catch up to me." Shadow scoffed, but he spoke too soon because a mob of guards appeared through the door in front of them and they became surrounded on all sides.

"Leaving so soon?" Scourge asked once he caught up to them, the swarm of guards parting for their leader. "I didn't even get to send Sonic my message yet!"

"I won't be a piece to your frickin' game!" Shadow shouted, stomping his foot on the ground.

"Well, that's too bad because you don't have a choice! Hail to the chief, Baby! Hahaha!" Shadow and Rouge rolled their eyes at the villain's signature line, and stood in silence as he laughed.

Suddenly, the door that the last mob of guards came from bursted open and a teal light sent half of the guards flying across the room. "Take that!" They heard in a familiar voice.

"Silver!" Rouge cheered, relieved to have the help.

The next half of the enemies soon kissed the floor, and Scourge was the last bad guy left standing. "I got this one." Shadow told Silver, walking up to Scourge, who now had sweat rolling down his face. The black hedgehog simply brought his knee up and whammed the green one in his crotch, just like he had done earlier with the jail cell guard. "Piece of cake." He chuckled as Scourge fell onto the ground.

As the three walked out of the prison, Rouge asked Silver how he knew where they were. "Well, I actually stumbled upon this place once, and figured it would be a good first guess for a secret hideout."

Rouge laughed. "Really? Villains are really unoriginal these days. What idiots..."

"Now you're starting to sound like Shadow."

"Hahaha! You're right. Whadda you think, Hon?" She turned to Shadow and he looked her in the eyes.

"Yep." That's when she got a clear look at his bloodshot, over-dilated eyes.

"Oh my God. Shadow, are you..."

"Huh?"

"Are you... high right now?"

"Th-there was a-"

"Wait," she cut him off, "that explains why you suddenly got your energy back! You're high! Shadow, how could you do this to yourself again?!"

"Bu-"

"I'm not hearing it!" She shouted, putting her hands over her giant ears. Silver took a step back, staying out of the fight. "You promised me, Shadow! Promised me!"

"It was-"

"No! You've lost my respect! Get me out of here, Silver!"

"But I don't wanna be dragged into-"

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Silver's eyes went flat, and he turned to Shadow.

"Will you be okay if I fly her home?"

Shadow sighed. "Go ahead. I'll find my way back."

"You sure."

"Yeah, uh-huh."

"Alright. Bye." Silver began to glow teal and so did Rouge as he picked her up and they rose into the sky.

"Oh, and... thanks." Shadow yelled, hoping the ivory one heard him. Silver looked down and gave a quick salute, and then rocketed away. Now it was just Shadow, left somewhere in the city slums, all alone.


	6. Seven Days Clean

Almost a week later, Rouge was still staying in Amy's apartment. Originally the gang had all just been staying there in support of Shadow, but now that he had been missing since the day of the abandoned jail, No one knew what to think. They decided to all stay, so that they could have a general meeting spot to report back their findings and theories on where he might of gone. They didn't find anything though, until he finally showed up at the door.

Knock! Knock!

Everyone's heads turned, remembering Scourge. "...He wouldn't mess with us after that... would he?" Rouge asked slowly. She and Silver had told everyone about the final showdown in the old building.

"Nah, he wouldn't have the guts." Sonic replied, opening the door.

To everyone's shock, it was Shadow, holding his hands behind his back.

"Faker! What brings you here?" Sonic asked, his eyes lighting up. Everyone ran to the doorway to see him.

Shadow didn't say anything as he entered the apartment and marched straight up to Rouge. When he stopped their faces were just a few inches apart and he revealed a bouquet of red roses from behind his back. "Shadow..." She closed her eyes, "You still broke-"

Then he showed her that in his other hand was a white ribbon that said, "Seven Days Clean".

"It wasn't easy, but I did it. For you."

Rouge was ashamed of herself for not being able to stand her ground, but Shadow had done this all for her... Shadow did.

Without giving it much more thought, she grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a kiss on the lips. He returned the kiss, closing his eyes. They lost themselves in the moment as the rest of the animals giggled, smiled and cheered for them.

-XXX-

"You know, Hon..." Rouge swished her glass of water around, listening to the clink of the ice from the action. They were in the diner called "Eddy's".

"What?" Shadow asked through his mouthful of burger - without cheese.

"You've changed a lot in the recent past."

"...Have I...?"

"Yeah. I'll bet you never would have admitted you liked me if it wasn't for that strange drug that put you through hell."

Shadow swallowed the last of his burger, then asked, "I wonder what that damn stuff was, anyway."

"Who cares?" Rouge asked, setting her drink down with a clink. "The way I see it, it did us both a favor."

"Fair enough." Shadow's face hinted at a smile as he said, "I suppose I can agree with that."

Rouge giggled softly. "Wanna go back to the apartment?"

"Sure."

Once the two were about to open the front door to Amy's apartment, Shadow stopped. "What?" Rouge asked.

"I, uh..." Shadow laughed a little at his own foolishness. "Well, I really... had a... great time... tonight."

"Aww!" Rouge kissed him on the cheek. "You don't want the night to end!"

"Hey, you're putting words in my mouth again."

"Hardly. You're so easy to read, my sweet."

"Hmph." Shadow couldn't mask a small smile as he opened the door.

"SURPRISE!"

"AAH!" Shadow stumbled backwards, almost falling on Rouge. "What the hell?!"

He looked around to see Sonic and the others wearing party hats and holding kazoos. A large white banner was hung in the living room that said, "DRUG FREE!"

"You're finally clean! We threw you a party!" Silver said with a smile, linking arms with Blaze. That's when Shadow noticed that there were more people in the room than his usual circle of friends contained. There was now also Cream, Vanilla, the Chaotix, Big the Cat, and even Cheese the Chao standing in front of him.

"Hm." Shadow responded, walking around them all and closing the door to his room. But before he could lock the door, Sonic was there, pulling the door back open.

"Oh no you don't! We put too much effort into this party!" With Tails and Knuckles's help, Sonic dragged Shadow back to the living room and they brought out a freshly baked cake for him.

"I made it myself!" Amy proudly stated.

Shadow sighed as he looked around at all the people watching him. "Well? What do you want me to do?"

"You can start by eating the cake," Blaze replied, cutting him a slice and shoving the plate into his hands, "and then you can wear this!" She stuck a cone-shaped party hat on him and his ears flattened out in humiliation as everyone laughed.

"C'mon Faker, have fun!" Sonic pressed, flashing him a toothy smile.

"I know what'll cheer you up!" Rouge said, suddenly kissing him with enthusiasm. Everyone clapped as he blushed madly.

"Alright, let's start this party!" Sonic shouted, queuing Tails to start up a stereo. Everyone danced happily to the beat. Even Shadow, who did a little side-to-side swaying motion with Rouge, even though he thought it was completely degrading.

Once the party was over, Rouge held tightly on to Shadow as everyone said their goodbyes and left. "What now, Handsome?" She asked, watching him as he turned his head to her. "I'm going to bed."

"Okay, see you in the morning then."

"Yep." Shadow walked to his room and paused in the doorway. "Goodnight, Love!" He yelled before slamming the door and locking it.

Rouge smugly began to sit down on the couch next to Amy, when it finally hit her. "Wait, Love?!"


	7. Epilogue

"SHADOW! OPEN UP!" Rouge screamed at the top of her lungs, pounding on his bedroom door. Before she realized it, the door had flung open and she was still knocking, so she consequently hit Shadow in the face by accident.

"Ow!" He yelled, flinching a few steps backward. "What'd I do?!"

"You said 'love', didn't you?!"

"N-no! H-how dare you accuse me!"

"Well I just wanted to say-"

"I didn't say it so just-"

"Let me finish-"

"Look, I-"

"SHADOW!"

"WHAT?"

"I LOVE YOU TOO!"

They both stood there for a minute, Shadow holding his nose, Rouge standing with her chin up. She was trying to remain strong as she awaited an answer. Finally, Shadow took his hand away from his face and grabbed her by the hips, pulling Rouge closer to him. He just smiled as he stared into her blue-green eyes. She smiled back, because Shadow's face said it all. He wasn't often a man of many words, but she could read him like a letter.

"Good. Now we're on the same page." He eventually said, pulling her closer for a hug.

"Does this mean we're going steady?" Rouge asked.

"Yes," he replied, "I suppose it does."


End file.
